HUF Worldwide Presents HUF 001
The eponymously titled first shop opened in Tenderloin back in 2002, initially offering 'hard to find' skate and street wear to the fashion-conscious youth of San Francisco. Slowly building its reputation, when the home brand soft goods drew mass critical acclaim, it was only a matter of time before NYC native and all round street skate legend Keith Hufnagel diversified his portfolio to launch the now world famous footwear brand of the same name.
The addition of the zeitgeist defining 'Team Handsome' stalwarts Austyn Gilette and Dylan Rieder back in 2013 sent shock waves throughout the industry and a steady range of hardwearing yet uniquely re-imagined versions of classic skate shoe designs has built the prominence of the brand to the point where a Japanese Investment firm recently announced interest in a 90% stake at 63 million dollars! Yeah, you read that correctly; in a world ruled by sportswear brands, a skater owned start up not only survives, but thrives enough to be valued at genuinely silly money. Mad eh!?!
Business matters to one side, HUF has always been about skateboarding and it's with the release of this new video and the stripped back approach to the brand's core interest that we find ourselves discussing the company today. Sadly, as we all know, Dylan passed back in October 2016 but the rest of the crew remains and everyone has footage in this. So sit pack, press that good ol' play button and see some of the most stylish rippers of the day do their thing for a brand that's made its mark doing it its own way. That's pretty much the ethos of skateboarding right there.